Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of computer systems. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for modifying packet interval timing (such as advertising interval timing) based on device characteristics.
Description of the Related Art
The “Internet of Things” refers to the interconnection of uniquely-identifiable embedded devices within the Internet infrastructure. Ultimately, IoT is expected to result in new, wide-ranging types of applications in which virtually any type of physical thing may provide information about itself or its surroundings and/or may be controlled remotely via client devices over the Internet.
For IoT devices which are battery-powered, power consumption becomes a significant issue. Power consumption is particularly problematic for battery powered IoT devices which communicate wirelessly via Bluetooth or WiFi communication channels. For example, using the Bluetooth Low Energy (BTLE) protocol an IoT device “advertises” its existence to all nearby listening devices at some predefined interval. The act of advertising over BTLE uses quite a bit of power, especially relative to the overall power usage of the IoT device, which may be idle for a majority of the time. Consequently, there is a need to reduce the power consumption of IoT devices, particularly with respect to wireless data communication.